JP5464448B2 - Printing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that performs desired printing on a sheet-like print medium.

  For example, a technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known as a printing apparatus that performs desired printing by disposing a substantially sheet-shaped print medium on a thin box-shaped main body case.

  In this conventional printing apparatus, a laminate (paper package) is installed in a storage portion opened on one side of the main body case. A plurality of print media (heat-sensitive paper) are sequentially picked up by the pickup roller from the installed laminate and conveyed, and desired printing is performed on the conveyed print media by a printing means (thermal head).

  In this printing apparatus, the laminate is removed from the storage section, and a dedicated adapter (manual paper feed attachment) is attached to the storage section, so that a single sheet of print medium can be removed from the outside of the apparatus. Can be introduced into the pickup roller. As a result, as described above, a single sheet of print medium is conveyed to the printing means by the pickup roller, and desired printing is performed. As a result, when the operator wants to perform double-sided printing on, for example, one printing medium, first, one-side printing is performed on one printing medium as usual, and then the one-side printing is performed using an adapter. By inserting the subsequent printing medium (with the printing surface opposite to that at the time of one-side printing), printing can be performed on the remaining side.

JP 2007-50981 A

  However, in the above prior art, in order to load a single print medium into the printing means in a single-cut state for the purpose of performing double-sided printing, the operator prepares and stores a separate dedicated adapter. The operation was troublesome.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus that performs printing by installing a laminated body in a storage portion opened on one side of a main body case, and is desired for a single printing medium without attaching a dedicated adapter or the like. Another object of the present invention is to provide a configuration capable of executing double-sided printing according to the above aspect.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises a main body case, a storage portion that opens on one side of the main body case, and stores a substantially sheet-like print medium to be printed, and the storage portion. An openable / closable lid provided to cover; a pickup roller that is disposed in the housing portion and picks up and conveys the print medium; a printing unit that performs desired printing on the print medium; and a printing unit A discharge port that discharges the print medium on which printing has been performed, and a bottom portion of the laminate that is erected on the bottom of the storage unit and stores a plurality of print mediums that are stacked in a sequentially removable manner. And a holding member that holds the bottom portion of the storage portion with a predetermined gap interposed therebetween, wherein the storage portion is installed on the opening side of the storage portion that opens upward, and holds the holding device. Held by the member The laminated body is installed on the bottom side of the storage unit where the laminated body is installed, and the storage unit opened upward, and the laminated body is laminated on the laminated body in a state where the laminated body is installed on the laminated body installation unit. It is characterized by comprising a single-sheet placement unit capable of placing a printing medium different from the printing medium outside the laminated body.

  The printing apparatus of the present invention includes a laminated body installation portion on an opening side of a storage portion that is covered with an openable / closable lid and opens upward. That is, the holding member holds the bottom portion of the laminated body, so that the upper side from the top portion of the holding member is a laminated body installation portion that is separated from the bottom portion of the storage portion by a predetermined gap. When the laminate is installed in the laminate installation unit, a plurality of substantially sheet-like print media stacked and accommodated in the laminate are sequentially picked up by the pickup roller and conveyed. The printed medium to be conveyed is discharged from the discharge port to the outside of the apparatus after desired printing is performed by the printing unit.

  And the storage part is provided with the cut sheet installation part in the bottom part side in addition to the said laminated body installation part. That is, when the holding member holds the bottom of the laminated body while being separated from the bottom of the storage unit by a predetermined gap, the predetermined gap becomes the cut sheet installation portion. In this single-cut placement unit, it is possible to install a single-sheet printing medium that is not included in the laminate in a state where the laminate is installed in the laminate installation unit. Similarly to the above, the medium to be printed installed in the single-cut placement unit is picked up by the pickup roller and conveyed, and then desired printing is performed by the printing means, and is discharged from the discharge port.

  Thus, in the present invention, when the operator wants to perform double-sided printing on a sheet of paper to be printed, first, the laminate is installed in the laminate installation unit and one-side printing is executed. That is, as described above, one print medium is picked up by the pickup roller from the laminate installed in the laminate installation section, and desired printing is performed on one side of the one print medium by the printing means. After that, it is discharged. Thereafter, the operator turns the single printed medium to be turned over so that the printed surface is the reverse of the one-side printing and installs the printed medium in the single-sheet placement section. As a result, the medium to be printed installed in the single-sheet placement unit (already printed on one side) is picked up by the pickup roller in the same manner as described above, and the side on which printing has not yet been performed (the side opposite to the one side on which the above printing has been performed) The desired printing is performed by the printing means on the printed surface. Even during the first single-sided printing, the double-sided unprinted printing medium is placed on the single-sheet placement part (without using the single printing medium taken out from the laminate placement part as described above). In addition, desired printing may be performed.

  As described above, in the present invention, double-sided printing in a desired mode can be performed on a single print-receiving medium without attaching a dedicated adapter for single sheets or the like to the storage unit as in the conventional structure. Can be executed.

  In addition, the laminated body is arranged in the laminated body installation unit above the storage unit, and the cut sheet installation unit is arranged on the bottom side below the storage unit, so that the print medium is eliminated in the single sheet installation unit. In this case, thereafter, it is possible to perform printing by sequentially picking up a plurality of print target media of the laminate installed in the laminate installation unit one by one from the lower side.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to execute double-sided printing in a desired mode on a single printing medium without attaching a dedicated adapter or the like.

1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which opened the case cover of the printing apparatus. It is a cross-sectional view in the III-III cross section in FIG. 2 in the state which closed the case cover. It is a perspective view of the paper package used for a printing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the protective sheet which comprises a paper package. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a printing operation when paper is fed from a paper package. It is explanatory drawing explaining the printing operation when it feeds from a cut sheet | seat installation part. It is a perspective view which shows the state which opened the case cover in the modification which enables attachment of a paper package to a case cover. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state where a paper package is attached to a case cover. It is a cross-sectional view in the XX cross section in FIG. 8 in the state which closed the case cover. It is a cross-sectional view in the XI-XI cross section in FIG. 8 in the state which closed the case cover. It is a cross-sectional view showing the modification regarding a latching claw.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  First, a schematic configuration of the printing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1 or FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the printing apparatus 1 has a thin box-shaped main body case 2 having a substantially rectangular shape in plan view. The main body case 2 has, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped shape with a length of about 16 cm in the longitudinal direction and a length of about 10 cm in the short direction, a size of about A6, a thickness of about 2 cm, and an open top surface. ing.

  Near the one end of the upper surface of the main body case 2 in the longitudinal direction of the main body case 2, a substantially rectangular fixed cover 3 having a size that occupies 1/4 of the upper surface of the main body is disposed. Further, a case cover 4 (lid body) is provided at the end of the upper surface of the main body case 2 opposite to the fixed cover 3 so as to be rotatable about one end. Further, in a portion excluding the fixed cover 3 of the main body case 2, there is a storage portion 5 in which substantially sheet-like thermal sheets 7 and 7 </ b> A (details will be described later) as print target media to be printed by the printing apparatus 1 are stored. Is formed. In addition, a printing mechanism section 12 to be described later is provided inside the main body case 2 covered with the fixed cover 3, and print data is printed on the thermal sheets 7 and 7A conveyed from the storage section 5. (Details will be described later).

<Case cover>
The case cover 4 is 3/4 the size of the upper surface of the main body case 2 excluding the fixed cover 3 and is formed in a substantially rectangular shape. The case cover 4 is rotatably attached to the main body case 2 via an opening / closing shaft 4b formed at one end in the longitudinal direction of the case cover 4. At this time, as shown in FIG. 2, the case cover 4 is formed by inserting the opening / closing shaft 4 b into the slide groove 2 a formed at one end portion (left hand direction in the drawing) of both outer side surfaces in the longitudinal direction of the main body case 2. It is attached. Therefore, when opening the case cover 4, the case cover 4 is slid in the direction away from the fixed cover 3 by the length of the slide groove 2a, and then the opening / closing operation is performed using the opening / closing shaft 4b as the rotation shaft. In addition, the case where the case cover 4 is opened includes, for example, a case where the paper package 6 (see FIGS. 3 and 4 described later) in which the thermal paper 7 is stacked in the storage unit 5 is stored, or a case where the case cover 4 is opened is illustrated in FIG. As described above, there is a case where the thermal sheet 7A in a single sheet state is installed in the installation unit 50L.

   In addition, a cover opening 4 a is formed in the case cover 4 based on the width dimension in the conveyance direction of the thermal paper 7 stored in the storage unit 5. The cover opening 4 a communicates the inside of the storage unit 5 with the outside of the printing apparatus 1 when the case cover 4 is closed. Further, the case cover 4 is formed with a lock piece 4c at an end portion on the fixed cover 3 side, and the lock piece 4c is formed at an end portion on the fixed cover 3 side of the main body case 2 (not shown). To prevent the case cover 4 in the closed state from being easily opened. A discharge port H is provided between the fixed cover 3 and the case cover 4 to discharge the thermal paper 7 and 7A after printing is finished (see FIG. 6 described later).

<Paper press>
A paper presser 9 is disposed on the inner surface of the case cover 4 facing the storage portion 5 at a position near a printing mechanism portion 12 described later (see FIG. 2). The sheet presser 9 is fixed at one end to the case cover 4 on the upstream side in the transport direction of the thermal paper 7, and on the downstream side, a presser plate 9a disposed as a free end, and a case cover on the free end side of the presser plate 9a. 4 and a spring 9b disposed between the pressing plate 9a. When the case cover 4 is closed, the sheet presser 9 has an end on the free end side of the presser plate 9a located inside the storage unit 5, and the paper package 6 in the storage unit 5 is moved downward with an appropriate pressing force. Press. Thereby, the thermal paper 7 sequentially taken out from the paper package 6 and the thermal paper 7A in a single sheet state (see FIG. 7 described later) positioned outside the paper package 6 can be smoothly conveyed.

<Storage section>
The storage portion 5 is formed as a rectangular parallelepiped space whose bottom surface is a rectangle of approximately A7 size. The structure of the storage portion 5 which is the greatest feature of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the storage unit 5 includes a package installation unit 50U (laminated body installation unit) located on the upper side and a cut sheet installation unit 50L located on the lower side. That is, on the substantially rectangular bottom portion of the storage portion 5, there are two protrusions 51a, protrusions 51b, protrusions 51c as a holding member having the same height, two at each of the two long sides of the rectangle. And the protrusion part 51d (illustration omitted) is standingly arranged. These protrusions 51a to 51d support the bottom of the paper package 6 (laminated body) in which a plurality of thermal papers 7 are stored in such a manner that the thermal paper 7 can be sequentially taken out.

  In this example, the package installation part 50U is an area above the tops of the protrusions 51a to 51d. The bottom portion 6a of the paper package 6 is supported at a predetermined gap x away from the bottom portion 5a of the storage portion 5 in the package setting portion 50U.

  The single cut placement portion 50L is a region below the top of the protrusions 51a to 51d corresponding to the gap x, located below the package placement portion 50U. In the single sheet placement unit 50L, the thermal paper 7A in a single or multiple single sheet state (= not stored in the paper package 6) with the paper package 6 installed in the package placement unit 50U. Is installed.

  Further, guide members 10 for pressing the side surfaces of the paper package 6 are provided at both side edges of the storage unit 5. Two protrusions 10a are formed on the side surface of the guide member 10 in a direction perpendicular to the side surface of the paper package 6, and are pressed against the side surface portion of the paper package 6 with a line and conveyed. The thermal sheet 7 is guided to prevent skewing during feeding.

<Paper package and thermal paper>
The sheet package 6 will be described with reference to FIGS. The paper package 6 includes a plurality of A7 size thermal papers 7 stacked with the printing surface facing down, and the uppermost and lowermost sides of the thermal paper 7 in the laminated state. And a protective sheet 8 that sandwiches the portion (see FIG. 4).

  The thermal paper 7 is an A7 size self-coloring thermal sheet (so-called thermal paper). The thermal paper 7 is placed on one side of the thermal paper 7 (stored in the paper package 6 and installed in the package installation unit 50U). Surface) becomes a printing surface on which printing is performed by heat generation of a heating element provided in the thermal head 25 (described later). The thermal paper 7A installed in the cut sheet installation unit 50L has the same configuration. Similarly to the above, the heat-sensitive paper 7A is also installed such that the lower surface becomes the printing surface with the orientation of the printing surface being installed in the cut sheet installation unit 50l.

  The protective sheet 8 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape having a substantially constant width dimension, and is stacked on the uppermost surface of the laminated thermal paper 7 so as to protect the thermal paper 7 from external pressure, and this pressing part 8a. An extension part 8b extending from the downstream edge of the part 8a in the conveying direction (the lower edge in FIG. 4) by the height of the heat-sensitive paper 7 that can be stacked, and the extension part 8b A printing surface protecting portion 8c extended from the downstream edge portion in the conveying direction (lower edge portion in FIG. 4) so as to be shorter than the length in the conveying direction of the pressing portion 8a by a predetermined dimension; Side wall portions 8e and 8f (not shown in FIG. 5B, see FIG. 3 and the like described later) for constituting wall surfaces standing on both sides in the width direction of 7A (see the folding direction of the arrow) are provided. Yes. That is, the extended portion 8b of the protective sheet 8 is bent substantially perpendicularly to the pressing portion 8a, and the printing surface protective portion 8c is bent substantially perpendicularly to the extended portion 8b, so that the protective sheet 8 is When the laminated thermal paper 7 is sandwiched and attached to the storage unit 5 in a substantially U shape in side view, the upstream edge in the transport direction of the printing surface protection unit 8c and the pickup roller 20 are: A predetermined gap is formed (see FIG. 6B described later).

  An information display 8 d of “size A7” indicating the size of the thermal paper 7 is printed on the upper surface of the pressing portion 8 a of the protective sheet 8 when the paper package 6 is stored in the storage portion 5. ing.

  At this time, the width dimension of the protection sheet 8 is formed to be larger than the width dimension of the thermal paper 7 by a predetermined dimension. The printing surface protection portion 8c of the protection sheet 8 has a predetermined width on the side surface portion facing the guide member 10 (see FIG. 2) of the printing surface protection portion 8c when the paper package 6 is stored in the storage portion 5. A relief portion 13 with a dimension cut is formed. Thus, when the paper package 6 is stored in the storage portion 5 and the case cover 4 is closed, each protrusion 10a of the guide member 10 comes into contact with the side surface of the pressing portion 8a, and the pressing portion 8a. The other side surface portion is pressed against each projection portion 10a of the guide member 10, but does not contact the side surface portion of the printing surface protection portion 8c, and the other side surface portion of the printing surface protection portion 8c is the guide member. Even if it touches each 10 projection part 10a, it is comprised so that it may not be pressed by each projection part 10a.

  In addition, on the surface side of the side edge portion on the opposite side to the escape portion 13 of the printing surface protection portion 8c of the protection sheet 8, the type of the thermal paper 7 that is a printing medium sandwiched in the paper package 6 is provided. Four substantially square various types of marks 14a to 14d are printed along the transport direction. Correspondingly, four reflective photosensors 15 are provided on the bottom surface of the storage portion 5 at positions facing the various types of marks 14a to 14d (see FIG. 6 described later). The reflective optical sensor 15 detects whether the various marks 14a to 14d are black or white, so that the type of the print medium such as the thermal paper 7 sandwiched in the paper package 6 can be determined. It is configured. Further, the reflection type optical sensor 15 is blocked by the thermal paper 7A when the single-sheet thermal paper 7A is installed in the single-sheet installation unit 50L located below the package installation unit 50U as described above. Thus, when the type marks 14a to 14d of the paper package 6 are not detected, the installation of the thermal paper 7A can be substantially detected (function as detection means in each claim). Thereby, the print control can be changed based on the detection result of the reflection type optical sensor 15, and for example, a single sheet thermal paper 7 </ b> A unique control different from the printing using the normal paper package 6 can be performed. It becomes possible. As an example of the unique control, for example, the pickup roller 20 and the printing are performed so that the pickup and the conveyance and the printing are performed only on one thermal sheet 7A installed in the cut sheet setting unit 50L. It is conceivable to control the mechanism unit 12 in cooperation (a function as a control means described in each claim). In this case, the operator simply installs one sheet of thermal paper 7A in the single-sheet placement unit 50L, and an operation suitable for the thermal sheet 7A in the single-sheet state (for example, single-sheet mode) by the function as the control means. Etc.), the conveyance of the pickup roller 20 and the printing of the printing mechanism unit 12 limited to the one thermal sheet 7A can be automatically performed.

  Returning to FIGS. 2 and 3, when the case cover 4 is turned and closed, the upper portion of the storage unit 5 is covered with the case cover 4. When the case cover 4 is opened, the upper portion of the storage portion 5 is opened (see FIG. 2). Thus, the operator can easily insert the paper package 6 in which the A7 size thermal paper 7 is laminated or the thermal paper 7A in a single-cut state from above and can be stored in the storage unit 5. At this time, a notch portion 11 having a slope portion inclined toward the bottom surface of the storage portion 5 is formed at the side edge of the storage portion 5. Is inserted so that the paper package 6 can be easily taken out.

  Further, the storage unit 5 has an open side surface on the fixed cover 3 side, and communicates with the printing mechanism unit 12 (see FIG. 6 described later). As a result, the thermal sheets 7 and 7A that have passed through the storage unit 5 can be conveyed to the printing mechanism unit 12.

<Printing mechanism>
Next, with reference to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the operation behavior of the thermal paper 7 and 7A and the printing operation will be described.

  As already described with reference to FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 7, the printing mechanism portion that performs printing on the thermal paper 7 and 7A is provided inside the main body case 2 below the fixed cover 3. 12 is formed. The printing mechanism unit 12 picks up the thermal paper 7 and 7A and conveys (feeds) the pickup roller 20, the separation unit 21, and the guide plate 27, and a paper guide that guides the thermal paper 7 and 7A toward the thermal head 25. 23, a platen roller 22 that conveys the thermal paper 7, 7A to the thermal head 25, and a thermal head 25 that is pressed in the direction of the platen roller 22 and performs thermal printing on the thermal paper 7, 7A on the platen roller 22 (printing means) ).

<When printing using a paper package>
The behavior when the thermal paper 7 is taken out from the paper package 6 and printing is performed will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b). In this case, after the operator moves the case cover 4 along the slide groove 2a, the case cover 4 is rotated and the paper package 6 is stored in the package setting unit 50U of the storage unit 5 (in other words, The paper package 6 is placed on the protrusions 51a to 51d). At this time, it is necessary to confirm that there is no thermal paper 7A in the cut sheet placement unit 50L.

  Thereafter, when the operator closes the case cover 4, the urging force of the spring 9 b disposed on the inner surface of the case cover 4 enters the paper package 6 via the paper presser 9 and the protective sheet 8. It acts on the laminated thermal paper 7 (see FIG. 6B). As a result, the thermal paper 7 located in the lowermost layer of the paper package 6 is pressed toward the pickup roller 20 located at the bottom of the storage unit 5 and is in close contact with the pickup roller 20. As the pickup roller 20 rotates, the lowermost thermal paper 7 is pulled out of the paper package 6 and conveyed into the printing mechanism section 12. Here, a plurality of sheets of thermal paper 7 may be fed due to the influence of the frictional force between the thermal sheets 7. Therefore, in order to prevent a plurality of sheets from being conveyed while being double-fed, a downwardly inclined surface is formed on the surface of the separating unit 21 on the side facing the pickup roller 20. As a result, when the double-fed thermal paper 7 touches this inclined surface, the double-fed thermal paper 7 is separated into single sheets by the frictional force between the leading edge surface of the thermal paper 7 in the transport direction and this inclined surface. The

  Next, when the separated thermal paper 7 is guided to the inclined surface and touches the guide plate 27, it is transported in the horizontal direction according to the surface direction of the guide plate 27 and guided to the paper guide 23. The paper guide 23 has a subarc-shaped cross-sectional shape, and the transport direction of the transported thermal paper 7 is corrected in a direction along the concave surface portion of the paper guide 23. The outer peripheral surface of the platen roller 22 is in close contact with the inner arc surface of the paper guide 23, and the thermal paper 7 is pressed by the paper guide 23 so as to be in close contact with the platen roller 22, and friction generated between the platen roller 22 and the platen roller 22. It is conveyed on the outer peripheral surface by force.

  On the upper part of the platen roller 22, a thermal head 25 is pressed against the platen roller 22 so as to be in line contact with the platen roller. Accordingly, the conveyed thermal paper 7 is sandwiched between the thermal head 25 and the platen roller 22, and line printing of the thermal paper 7 is performed by heating the thermal head 25. Thereafter, the thermal paper 7 on which the print data is printed by the thermal head 25 is conveyed by the platen roller 22 and discharged from the discharge port H to the outside of the printing apparatus 1 through the upper inclined surface of the separation unit 21. The In this way, the thermal paper 7 sandwiched between the paper packages 6 performs desired printing one by one (see FIG. 6B).

  Even when the number of the thermal papers 7 sandwiched between the protective sheets 8 is reduced and the number of the thermal papers 7 is reduced by repeating the printing on the thermal papers 7 as described above, The pressing portion 8 a of the protective sheet 8 is pressed by the sheet presser 9, and the lowermost thermal sheet 7 is indirectly pressed by the pickup roller 20. Accordingly, even with the last sheet of thermal paper 7, the thermal paper 7 is conveyed and printed by the thermal head 25 as the pickup roller 20 is driven.

<When printing on thermal paper 7A in a single sheet>
The behavior when the thermal sheet 7A is conveyed from the cut sheet setting unit 50L and printing is performed will be described with reference to FIG. The operator rotates the case cover 4 in the same manner as described above, and installs the single sheet thermal paper 7A in the single sheet placement section 50L between the projections 51a to 51d of the storage section 5. Thereafter, the operator places the paper package 6 on the protrusions 51a to 51d so as to cover the thermal paper 7A of the cut sheet placement unit 50L, thereby placing the paper package 6 on the package placement unit 50U. Store.

  Thereafter, when the operator closes the case cover 4, the urging force of the spring 9 b provided on the inner surface of the case cover 4 acts on the paper package 6 via the paper presser 9 and the protective sheet 8. Furthermore, it acts on the thermal paper 7A of the single-sheet placement unit 50L located below the paper package 6 (see FIG. 7).

  Due to the action of the pressing force, the thermal paper 7A located in the single-sheet placement unit 50L below the paper package 6 is pressed in the direction of the pickup roller 20 located at the bottom of the storage unit 5 and is applied to the pickup roller 20. In close contact. Then, when the pickup roller 20 rotates, the thermal sheet 7A is picked up and conveyed into the printing mechanism section 12. As described above, when there is no thermal paper 7A in the cut sheet placement unit 50L, the thermal paper 7 from the paper package 6 of the package placement unit 50U is picked up by the pickup roller 20. On the other hand, when there is the thermal paper 7A in the single-sheet placement unit 50L, even if the paper package 6 is installed in the package installation unit 50U, the thermal paper 7A in the single-sheet installation unit 50L is preferentially picked up by the pickup roller 20. Picked up. Subsequent conveyance and printing operations for the thermal paper 7A picked up as described above are the same as those of the thermal paper 7 described above, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  In the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment described above, double-sided printing can be performed on one sheet of thermal paper 7 and 7A by using the cut sheet placement unit 50L. When the paper package 6 is installed in the package installation unit 50U as described above, one thermal paper 7 is picked up from the paper package 6 by the pickup roller 20, and a desired thermal head 25 is provided on one side of the single thermal paper 7 by the thermal head 25. After printing is performed, the paper is discharged from the discharge port H.

  After that, the operator turns over the one-side printed thermal paper 7 discharged from the discharge port H so that the printed surface is opposite to that at the time of the one-side printing. What is necessary is just to install in the cut sheet | seat installation part 50L as the paper 7A. As a result, the thermal paper 7A that has already been printed on one side, which is installed in the cut sheet placement unit 50L, is picked up by the pickup roller 20 in the same manner as described above, and has not yet been printed (the one side on which the above printing has been performed) Desired printing is performed by the thermal head 25 on the printing surface on the opposite side. Even during the first one-side printing, the thermal paper 7A that is not printed on both sides is placed in the single-sheet placement unit 50L without using the single thermal paper 7 taken out from the paper package 6 as described above, and desired on one side. May be printed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, a desired sheet of thermal paper 7, 7A can be obtained without attaching a dedicated adapter for single sheets or the like to the storage unit as in the conventional structure. Aspects of duplex printing can be performed.

  In the present embodiment, in particular, the thermal paper 7A installed in the cut sheet placement unit 50L is preferentially picked up by the pickup roller 25 over the thermal paper 7 laminated by the paper package 6 installed in the package installation unit 50U. It is configured so that. As a result, when the paper package 6 is installed in the package installation unit 50U, and when one sheet of thermal paper 7A is installed in the single-sheet state in the single-sheet installation unit 50L, the thermal paper of the single-sheet installation unit 50L is surely obtained. 7A is picked up and can be printed. Further, when printing is performed on the thermal paper 7A of the cut sheet setting unit 50L and the thermal paper 7A is discharged from the discharge port H and no longer exists in the cut sheet setting unit 50L, it is installed in the package setting unit 50U as it is thereafter. A plurality of thermal papers 7 can be sequentially picked up one by one from the paper package 6 that has been printed, and printing can be performed.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the technical idea. Hereinafter, such modifications will be described.

(1) When the paper package can be attached to the case cover This modification will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 8, in this modified example, a total of four portions of the same shape on the substantially rectangular lower surface (in a closed state) of the case cover 4 are provided along two long sides of the rectangle. Claws 61a, 61b, 61c, 61d (accompanying means) are provided. As shown in FIG. 9, these locking claws 61a to 61d hold both side edges of the paper package 6 in the width direction, specifically the side walls 8e and 8f of the protective sheet 8 in this example. (See also FIG. 10. In FIG. 9, only the outline of the paper package 6 is schematically shown in FIG. 9 to avoid the complexity of the illustration.) As a result, as shown in FIG. 10, the paper package 6 is positioned at the package setting portion 50 </ b> U when the case cover 4 is closed, and the paper package 6 is open when the case cover 4 is open. At the same time, it is turned away from the storage unit 5.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 8, when the case cover 4 is closed, the locking claw 61a is inserted into the storage portion 5 at a position between the protrusion 51a and the protrusion 51b. The locking claw 61b is inserted into the storage portion 5 at a position closer to the opening / closing shaft 4b than the projection 51b, and the locking claw 61c is located between the projection 51c and the projection 51d in the storage 5. The latching claw 61d is inserted into the position of the storage portion 5 closer to the opening / closing shaft 4b than the protrusion 51d. In other words, in the closed state of the case cover 4, the locking claws 61a and 61b and the protrusions 51a and 51b are alternately arranged, and the locking claws 61c and 61d and the protrusions 51c and 51d are alternately arranged. Has been.

  In this modification configured as described above, the paper package 6 is locked and held by the locking claws 61 a to 61 d of the case cover 4. As a result, when the operator opens the case cover 4 upward, the paper package 6 moves along with the opened case cover 4, and the cut sheet placement unit 50 </ b> L located below in the storage unit 5 is exposed. (See FIG. 9). As a result, the operator can easily install one sheet of thermal paper 7A in the single-sheet placement unit 50L simply by opening the case cover 4 and without particularly performing an operation of removing the paper package 6 from the storage unit 5. it can.

(2) Variation of locking claw shape The shape of the locking claw 61a, 61b is not limited to the shape of the modified example of the above (1). That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, the lower end portions of the locking claws 61a and 61b may be positioned above the bottom portion 6a of the paper package 6 in the state of being installed in the stacked body installation portion 50U. Good. In this case, the latching claws 61a and 61b have a structure that abuts and latches against the side wall portions 8e and 8f of the protective sheet 8 as shown in the figure, unlike the holding as described above.

  In this case, the latching claws 61a and 61b can be structured so as not to enter the cut sheet placement portion 50L at all, and the layout flexibility is improved. That is, it is necessary to have a structure such as the alternating arrangement of the locking claws 61a and 61b and the protruding portions 51a and 51b, the alternating arrangement of the locking claws 61c and 61d and the protruding portions 51c and 51d, as shown in FIG. Disappear. That is, as shown in FIG. 12, the locking claws 61a and 61b and the protruding portions 51a and 51b are arranged at the same position along the longitudinal direction of the main body case 2, or the locking claws 61c and 61d and the protruding portions 51c, 51d can also be arranged at the same position along the longitudinal direction of the main body case 2 and the case cover 4.

  In the modified examples (1) and (2), the locking claws 61a to 61d as the accompanying means are provided on the case cover 4. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other accompanying means such as a double-sided adhesive tape is used. It may be provided. Further, these locking claws and double-sided adhesive tape may be provided on the paper package 6 side. In that case, the locked portion on the case cover 4 side to which the locking claw is locked and the to-be-adhered portion on the case cover 4 side to which the double-sided adhesive tape adheres function as the accompanying means described in each claim. To do.

(3) Others For example, in the above description, the case where the thermal paper 7, 7A, which is a thermal sheet having self-coloring properties, is employed as the print medium has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, a configuration using a heat-sensitive perforation type in which a perforated layer perforated by heating of the thermal head 25 is laminated on a base material layer may be used. It is also possible to use a label printing medium having an adhesive layer on the back side of the printing surface of the thermal paper 7, 7A, and having a release paper attached via the adhesive layer.

  In the above description, the thermal sheets 7 and 7A have already been cut into the A7 size, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it is also possible to use a roll sheet on which a heat-sensitive sheet formed in a long shape is wound as a print medium for manual printing. In this case, a cutting means (for example, a cutter) capable of cutting the long heat-sensitive sheet at a desired position at the opening edge of the discharge port that passes through the printing mechanism 12 and is discharged to the outside of the printing apparatus 1. Is preferably provided.

  Furthermore, in addition to those already described above, the methods according to the above-described embodiments and modifications may be used in appropriate combination.

  In addition, although not illustrated one by one, the present invention is implemented with various modifications within a range not departing from the gist thereof.

1 Printer 2 Body Case 4 Case Cover (Cover)
5 Storage part 5a Bottom part 6 Paper package (laminate)
6a Bottom 7 Thermal paper (printed medium)
7A Thermal paper (another printing medium)
15 reflective optical sensor (detection means)
20 Pickup roller 25 Thermal head (printing means)
50U Laminate installation part 50L Single cut installation part 51a-d Protrusion part (holding member)
61a-d Locking claws (accompanying means)
H outlet x gap

Claims (6)

A body case,
An opening on one side of the main body case, and a storage portion for storing a substantially sheet-like print medium to be printed;
An openable / closable lid provided to cover the storage portion;
A pickup roller disposed in the storage unit for picking up and conveying the print medium;
Printing means for performing desired printing on the printing medium;
A discharge port for discharging the medium to be printed on which printing has been performed by a printing unit;
The bottom portion of the stacked body, which is erected on the bottom portion of the storage portion and stores the plurality of print target media stacked so as to be sequentially removable, is held with a predetermined gap interposed between the bottom portion of the storage portion. A holding member;
A printing device comprising:
The storage section is
A laminated body installation part installed on the opening side of the storage part opened upward and in which the laminated body held by the holding member is installed;
A print medium that is installed on the bottom side of the storage unit that is open upward and the laminate is installed in the laminate installation unit, and a print medium that is different from the print medium that is stacked on the laminate, A printing apparatus comprising: a single-cut placement unit that can be placed outside the body. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,
The cut sheet setting unit is
The installed print target medium is configured to be preferentially picked up by the pickup roller over the print target medium stacked by the laminate installed in the laminate installation unit. Printing device. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,
The lid is
A printing apparatus comprising: an accompanying unit that positions the laminated body on the laminated body installation portion in the closed state and associates the laminated body with the lid in the opened state. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein
The accompanying means is:
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing device is a locking claw that is provided on the lid and that latches edges on both sides in the width direction of the laminated body when the lid is open. The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein
The lower end of the locking claw is
A printing apparatus, wherein the printing apparatus is positioned above a bottom portion of the laminate in a state of being installed in the laminate installation unit. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 5,
Detecting means for detecting that the medium to be printed is installed in the cut sheet setting unit;
When the detection unit detects the setting of the printing medium on the cut sheet setting unit, the pickup and conveyance only for one printing medium set on the cutting sheet setting unit and Control means for controlling the pickup roller and the printing means in cooperation so as to perform printing;
A printing apparatus comprising:

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